When to Plant Ruby Grass in Harvard, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when you can plant ruby grass is to use the USDA zone info for Harvard.


Planting Calendar for Ruby Grass

Frost tolerance for ruby grass: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Ruby Grass do ok in moderate cold which means that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant ruby grass
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant ruby grass
Probably not a good time to plant ruby grass

The earliest that you can plant ruby grass in Harvard is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant ruby grass and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your ruby grass may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your ruby grass indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Harvard. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Harvard is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Harvard you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your ruby grass if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Harvard

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Harvard

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Harvard.